Latent
by aqua-reina
Summary: AU Zutara. In a world where the avatar had never been found, and the war was still ongoing. Imprisoned, Zuko yearns for his freedom, one woman is able to grant that. Now that he's stuck with her team of mercenaries, should he trust himself to not complicate his situation and risk losing his new found freedom?
1. Terms and Conditions

Latent

Chapter 1

Terms and Conditions

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Brian and Mike are the ultimate masterminds!

A/N: The characters are a older than the ages in the TV series [Katara is somewhere in her early 20s if that helps]. This is definitely AU. The world was still searching for the Avatar, as a result of continued war efforts, individuals from all over the world banded together to form a secret elite rebel group to stop the Fire Lord and the Great War. The Water Tribe siblings are in the family business of specialized war tactics. Not my first story but the first one that I've actually outlined to something decent. Enjoy!

It smelled of mold and it was hot. The summer heat was almost through and he reveled in the blissful heat. Every winter marked a new year for him in this god forsaken metal pit. Would he survive? Sure as hell didn't want to. He sat in the center of his cot which was placed on the floor and was pushed against the opposite wall of the door.

Inhaling deeply, he tried to maintain his hold onto the last habit he had before his life behind the rusty bars began. He couldn't feel the familiar heat that would swell in his chest with every inhale. It had been years since he had felt its warmth, oh how he missed it. Since day one he had been given a specialized cocktail laced in his food and water that would stop any form of bending. It had been years since he had seen his own fire and it was starting to burn a hole right through his soul. He would occasionally skip meals just so that he could see a flicker of his soul in the palm of his hand. But starving yourself can only last so long.

The boots of a guard approached and by the smell of it, dayshift just took over. A guard approached the cell carrying a small cup. It had been explained to him upon his arrival to the prison that he would be drinking a brew daily to inhibit his bending capabilities. As a precaution all inmates were subject to the tea regardless of bending status. One inmate had explained that the tea had acted as a neurotoxin that inhibited a part of the brain that was in charge of the bender's capabilities. He didn't care how the tea worked, he just wanted to feel the heat of his soul in his palms again.

The man reached his arms through the cells doors for the cup and shot down the brew in one swig. He opened his mouth and stuck his tongue out for inspection before the door to his cell opened.

"Your have a visitor," the guard sneered. The man stood on command by the door, his shackles clinking as he exited the cell. "I don't got all day!" He felt pain shoot up from his right shoulder blade making him shuffle two or three steps before resuming his normal pace.

The men rattled their cages and gave suggestive motions and hoots and the man was lead down the hallway. The prison itself was pristine. The floors were scrubbed daily by the prisoners, the only tell of wear were the inside of the cells. With carvings and unidentified bodily fluids making each cell unique in their personal design.

The guard led him down multiple hallways until he came across a lone door. The window was dirty and smudged and the man could faintly identify two women waiting inside.

Suki paced the room waiting for the apparently new informant that they were waiting to meet. Her lack of patience was getting the better of her. If she didn't know it, she would have guessed that 40 years had passed since they had entered the disgusting premises.

"Kat, I don't know if you've lost your bloody mind or what, but you better make this quick. I don't want to be here for longer than I need to be. Not that this isn't where I want to be but-"

"Suki, just remember what we came for." Katara could hear the thumping of footsteps outside the door increase in volume. "Just remember and smile." Suki sent a nasty glare to the back of Katara's head. As soon as the door opened both women looked up.

"You got five minutes lady and no more." Katara tried her best to not wrinkle her nose as the smell of old tobacco reached her. "Now sit," the man in the dirty uniform was forced into the seat by the guard rather roughly. The guard chuckled as he left, slamming the door behind him.

Katara took this moment to calm herself. Don't ruin it. She and Suki shared a glance before Suki left to stand guard outside. Katara placed her hands underneath the table, away from the view of the man in the uniform.

"I don't want to waste your or my time so I'm going to get right to the point. I'm interested in doing business with you and if you are willing to complete your end of the bargain I will see to it that you are rewarded fairly." Katara tried to maintain eye contact but his face was downcast. "I need you to locate someone in this prison for me. Easy and simple."

The man finally moved after a while, Katara was starting to get nervous he was deaf. He was smirking.

"I've heard of you. You visit and have your lap dogs do your chores. Listen, I'm not doing shit, so you can take your pretty ass to someone else." The man finally looked up and into her eyes. Katara tried her best to not feel the shiver down her spine as his eyes burned into hers. "I'm not working for someone on a power trip."

"Don't be mistaken, I contacted you for a reason. Everyone has a price, it's just a matter of compromise." Katara never left his gaze. "I prefer to call myself a business woman, so lets conclude this agreement in a business like fashion. You need things that I have. You have skills that I need." She held her finger up before the man could react, "hear me out. Before you go off on my lowly power hungry ways, listen to what I have to say before you reject?" She took his silence as a yes. "I need you to locate an individual within this facility. It's easy to identify him, he looks exactly like me just as a male. He's loud and obnoxious, it's hard to miss him. I need you to find him and tell him the letters 'SWT4,' you got that?" His glare lessened by a hair.

Katara laid her hand flat on the table. She needed to concentrate, she wasn't going to last much longer. She could feel sweat beginning to accumulate at the base of her scalp.

"I need you to tell him that, and in exchange you'll be given a carton of the Earth Kingdoms best cigarettes." Her voice came out a little more stressed. She was pressed for time and he seemed to be dragging his feet.

"So say I find him, and tell him. What's it to you? He's in a prison. Won't be able to do much good to the outside world." He leaned forward, "unless he won't be in this world for too long. My skills don't exactly apply to individuals with healthy long life spans."

Katara was beginning to sweat and her arm was cramping up, but her face remained a mask. Suki flashed by the window, time must be up.

"Find the man that looks exactly like me, three days from today tell him my message. Tell him exactly what I told you and he will decide whether or not your reward can be changed. Our time's up." The man stood quickly and walked towards the exit door. He glanced at her hands and noticed their kinked odd position under the table but didn't mention anything. The door opened and a different guard escorted him out of the room. He turned to see the woman one last time and stopped short. The room was completely empty, he was standing in the one exit to the entire room and the woman was gone. The guard gave a swift yank to his chains, cutting short any chances of discovering how she might have left the small room.

He was led like a dog back to his cell, the conversation with the woman on repeat long after the door to his cell clanked to a close.

Katara stared through the ventilation grate as the prisoner and the guard left the small interrogation room. She prayed to La that the man would be able to carry the message to her brother. Her eyebrow twitched in annoyance, she should probably pray that her brother doesn't mess up her plans either while she's at it. Following her internal map, she slowly made her way to the meeting spot Suki and her spotted earlier. She would swear for the rest of her days, she'd never forget that man's eyes.

She was silent as she sprinted to the southern most wall of the prison and easily hopped over the metal fence.

"What took you so long?" Suki hadn't even look up from grooming her nails. "Thank the gods it isn't a new moon or else I would have had to fight off way too many guards than I cared for."

"The Warden wouldn't dare pull the alarm on me." Katara chuckled as a memory drifted to the front of her mind.

_It had been easy to sneak into the guards quarters and steal a helmet and other items. Her training had made sneaking into the Earth Kingdom's top prison almost too easy. 'Well this won't be any fun,' she thought._

_The Warden's office wasn't to far from her entry point into the prison and was within the office within the minute. She couldn't keep the smile off her face as she pressed the unsuspecting Warden up against his office wall. She knocked him in the head with her helmet, letting the disorientation set it, she sauntered over towards his chair. It was a lot more comfortable than it looked, but his taste was horrible. She placed the helmet on the desk._

_After a couple moments, he seemed to have finally gathered himself. "What do you think you're-" he was cut off before he could finish his threat. _

_Katara kinked her index, ring and pinkie finger and forced the man to sit down in the chair opposite to her new desk._

"_Don't start yelling, I haven't done anything to you yet. I want to make a deal with you."_

_He shrank in horror in his chair while her excitement had just begun._

"Oh come now. It wasn't as if our little meeting ended badly. I poured him a drink from his cabinet right before I left."

_Metal boots shook upside down in midair, unfortunately for the Warden, he was still wearing them. In all honestly, she only gagged him because of his horrible curses. No person on this planet needed such a vile vocabulary. She took a sip from an expensive bottle of fire-brandy before pouring it over the Warden's face. Turned red from being upside down for so long, he coughed and tried to scream more curses through his gag. Katara could only roll her eyes before taking another sip._

Suki gave Katara a look.

"I know you were dead set on the guy you picked, but he better not mess this up." She paused and walked towards their campsite. "I want Sokka back out in the real world. I miss that idiot more than he'll ever know."

20 minutes of walking around they found themselves at their small campsite. It was just around a small cove near the prison's water dam that granted the facility it's personal power source. Suki walked off towards the river to refresh herself before dinner and to hopefully quell her nerves before their next mission. The sounds of water being flushed through turbines were the only object to make a noise for the rest of the night.

It was two days before he found the man. The resemblance was striking, but they didn't have the same eye color. It was the first thing he noticed. The midday cafeteria session was coming to a close and he took his chance to talk to the blue eyed man. He did have only one day left.

He slowly slid into the bench a few feet away. The man was wolfing down the prison slop at an alarming rate, it was all he could do to not curl his lip in disgust. As soon as he was seated the man stopped his chewing and eyed the newcomer. The new guy seemed confused and was clenching his hands. The blue eyed man decided to end things before it got more awkward.

"Look buddy, I don't know what Chu told you, but I'm not into doing favors like-"

"Do you have a sister?"

Blue eyes went wide before narrowing, "and what in La's name is that supposed to mean?"

"Shit, that not what I-"

"What makes you think you can just sit here and talk to me like that." He stood up quickly and pointed his slop covered spoon at the newcomers face. "Water tribe doesn't take squat from fire nation scum like you." He grabbed him by the shirt but was shoved away easily by the newcomer.

"Listen! I was told to find someone who looked identical to a visitor I had a couple days ago. Now are you going to hear me out?" He was seething between his teeth. If he boiled over anymore, he could have sworn steam would have come out of his nose. He missed the heat that rose in his veins during a fight.

The Water Tribe man seemed to calm down bit before looking him in the eye. "Let's talk, just not here." He followed Water Tribe to a corner of the rec field and leaned up against the gate.

"You got my attention now spit it out. I don't want my time wasted." Water Tribe squatted down, leaning his back against the gate.

The man smirked, "you are related huh."

Water Tribe stayed silent. The man prayed this wasn't going to end up as some inside family joke. "SWT4, mean anything to you?"

The man watched Water Tribe's eyes shoot open wide. A hand went down his face before muttering incoherently in between swears. "That was exactly what she said?" His hand still covered his face.

"Yeah, but all I'm interested in is the reward. She promised me you could deliver. If you guys are planning something along the lines of escape, I want in." Water Tribe remained unmoving before he shot his hand out towards him and stood up.

"We can talk about that later, your end of the bargain hasn't been fulfilled yet. If or when you fulfill it can we talk about the payment options, but first I need you to work with me." He paused, "the name's Sokka."

The man looked down at the extended arm. He hadn't been shown civility in years. His gold eyes looked up with determination. "Zuko."


	2. The Escape

Latent

Chapter 2

The Escape

Disclaimer: ATLA and all of their beautiful characters and artwork belongs to Mike and Brian. I just simply wish I had their talent.

_The man looked down at the extended arm. He hadn't been shown civility in years. His gold eyes looked up with determination. "Zuko."_

Zuko had waited for this moment. He woke up before dawn, he swore he could feel the excitement thrumming through his veins. He couldn't sleep knowing what the possibility of today could bring. He hadn't felt the sun's power in years but he could still feel the imaginary pull. He had been drugged for so long in this metal pit he couldn't even remember the last time he felt his fire in his palm. Once he was out of this hell hole, maybe…just maybe he could see his flames leave his fist once more before he was wiped off this earth.

The cell doors opened just a little after dawn for breakfast. Most prisoners didn't take their breakfast until the later hours, they did whatever they could to avoid eating the vile rot served daily. Most walked to the field to enjoy the limited view of sky granted to them.

Sokka and Zuko walked against the current of maroon and grey uniforms and straight to cell 47 along the B block. It was farther down the hallway granting them less disturbances from any nosey ass-wipe that wanted to see what they were up to. With all the cell doors open it was easy to get in. Sokka walked in first and Zuko closed the heavy metal door behind them.

The unfortunate man still lay asleep on his cot. Lame designs littered the inside of the cell with old chewed pieces of straw laying on the floor. Zuko didn't know what the guy did to deserve what Sokka was going to do, but he wasn't exactly being paid for his morals.

In a blink of an eye Sokka's arm swung wildly and connected with the sleeping man's jaw. Zuko could have sworn he heard teeth rattle. The man's eye's shot open as he rolled away cursing, "how'd you-"

Zuko took the next shot, with his right hand flat he let his arm fly towards the mans' throat. Bulls eye.

The attacks were ceaseless. Blood splattered Zuko's knuckles, he was sure there must have been a smudge on his face when Sokka dealt another blow to the guy's stomach and he started coughing a fit. To his enjoyment, the guy did try to put up a fight. His foot shot out and connected with Zuko's shoulder, hindering him only temporarily. If he had been any weaker of a man his arm might have been down and out of the socket.

Zuko took a step towards the door, he wasn't imagining footsteps outside after all. It wasn't even five minutes passed from when they entered before Zuko grabbed Sokka's shoulder and was dragging him out of the room. Any more time in there and their plans could be doomed. With one last punch Sokka let out a yell and let his fist connect one more time with the bastard's face.

"I swear to the gods Jet, if I see your stinking face again I'll really show you what the Water Tribe is made of!" Zuko grabbed Sokka by his upper body and dragged him out into the hallway, Sokka fighting him the entire way.

The beaten man lay there, breathing hitched and irregular only inches away from death. Zuko made sure Sokka didn't deliver a deadly blow, he seemed like a good guy, he didn't need that on his shoulders. Sokka was waiving his arms wildly as Zuko dragged him away. His right hand latched onto his shirt and his left arm around Sokka's torso.

"Get your hands off of me! That filthy bastard deserves so much more! And I got tons more in store for scum like him! Let me go!" Sokka apparently hadn't had enough.

Zuko ignored him and dragged him around the far corner. The dim green lights on the floor lighting the hallways. Zuko pressed Sokka up against the wall with his two fists against his collarbones. The only sounds were their harsh breathing and the low conversation sounds from the other inmates within the building.

"Get your shit together. I don't care what he did to you, but you aren't messing up my chance to get the hell out of here." He shoved Sokka against the wall again for good effort. Sokka's breathing started to slow, he looked down and nodded his head. "If I hadn't stopped you, you probably would have killed the guy. What in Agni's name did he do?"

Sokka sighed, "let us just say that Jet is the reason I'm in here ok?"

Zuko gave a grunt in acknowledgement before pulling out a rag from his pant pocket.

Zuko made sure to check to see if the coast was clear before wiping away the blood on his hands on his rag. He threw it at Sokka.

"What's next?"

Sokka eyed him wearily, "we gotta get to the laundry room unnoticed."

Zuko nodded once. "Lead the way."

Sokka lead them through a series of hallways and stairwells. Zuko stopped paying attention to where they were going, his mind getting lost in the maze they called a prison. Sokka had said that it was originally designed to prevent inmates from making it to the front gates, but being on the prison's maintenance crew for a little while, Sokka was able to trace the hallways into a map.

Finally they reached a doubled doorway leading into the laundry area. Zuko's stomach turned at the smell that wafted through the room. Sokka led them to a back corner. Sewer drains littered the floor next to an emergency water valve that looked large enough to fit through, but it probably hadn't been moved since before the start of the Great War. Sokka gave it a weary look.

"Well here goes nothing!" Sokka jumped onto the rusted wheel and turned it with all his might. It didn't even budge. "Ahh! Come on baby!" Zuko noticed his face was starting to get red. "Damn it, this thing is on tight!" he yelled.

Sokka banged his fist on the metal wheel a couple times before trying the wheel again. It was no use, the damned rusty wheel wouldn't move.

Zuko grabbed onto the other side of the wheel, with Zuko pulling down and Sokka pushing up. "Don't yell so loudly you'll alert the guards!"

"Don't tell me not to yell, Fire Nation, when you're yelling too!" Sokka pointed a finger.

"Shut-"

Footsteps, and lots of them.

"Hey! I heard something come from down this way! You, come with me and check it out!" The footsteps were getting louder.

Zuko pointed a finger towards Sokka's chest, before he could let the curses fly out of his mouth the wheel creaked on its own. Sokka stared, if Zuko didn't know any better he would have sworn the wheel had moved. Zuko and Sokka hurriedly worked the wheel again.

_Creeeeeeeeeaaaak! _

It had budged again! Sokka swatted away Zuko's finger. The foots steps were getting louder and the guards voices were getting clearer. It would be any second before they cleared around the corner.

The wheel spun a quarter turn and was steadily moving faster with their effort. A loud clunk resounded through the metal wall and the wheel was spinning rapidly. The door moved open a hair, but that was all Sokka needed before he swung the door open with all his might and climbed into the tunnel. Zuko was right behind him and closed the door, he spun the wheel shut and gave a resounding kick. The old metal protested under the stress and snapped off, clanking to the ground in defeat.

Zuko turned to follow Sokka and discovered him a ways down the tunnel. He was sure Water Tribe would have left him behind at the pace he was going.

"Hey you aren't any chance a fire bender? I could use some light right now!" Sokka turned towards Zuko, giving him an inquisitive look. Zuko knew he'd have to play his cards right if was going to have any chance at escaping.

"No, I'm not." Sokka eyed him again before turning and continuing down the tunnel. To Zuko's credit he wasn't a firebender, at least not right now. Even if he tried, Zuko doubted he'd even be able to warm his body. The tea would still be in effect for another couple of days, and who knows how long after that.

They sped as best they could down the cramped tunnel before there was a drop. Sokka made a screeching noise as his foot had touched air and flailed a bit before Zuko grabbed onto him and pulled him back. A thunderous noise could be heard and Zuko could have sworn from the stench it was the sewer waters of the entire prison. He tried his best to keep the bile from rising to his mouth.

"Maybe it's a good thing you aren't a firebender, with this much gas in the air you probably would have blown us sky high!" Sokka seemed to think he had been funny and laughed.

Sokka turned and looked and him with a smile, "now or never!" and then he was gone. The idiot actually jumped down into the sewers! Zuko took a deep breath of what he sure was to be his last before jumping feet first into the dark water.

The sludge drug him under, it took him all of might to stay towards the top of the current. It was difficult trying to keep his head in any direction as he was tossed like a rag doll around. He was running out of breath and if the current kept dragging him under like it was, he wasn't going to make it. His lungs were burning in his chest and his throat was closing up from the pressure. His head was spinning as he tried to reach towards what he hoped was the surface. His mind was starting to get spotty from his lack of oxygen, he needed to breathe or he was going to die. He saw flashes of little gold eyes and a tuft of black hair. Zuko tried reaching for the familiar face in his mind, he only wanted to see that face one more time.

And all too quickly, he was being thrown forcefully down, or up, he was so turned around he couldn't tell. It took him a second to realize he was in a lake and kicked with the last of his energy towards the shinning surface.

Gagging and gasping, he finally let the air inside his lungs. His chest burned in gratitude. Looking around the shoreline he saw a familiar maroon shirt off towards the shore and slowly made his way over to it.

Sokka was gasping like a fish out of water as he laid on the shore. His hair was skewed and turned black from the sludge. His ponytail long since destroyed. He spied Zuko in the water and leaned over with his arm to help him out. Zuko flopped onto the shore and stared at the sky, chest heaving and coughing the water out of his lungs. He could hear birds chirping and could feel the moss underneath his finger tips. He couldn't even remember the last time he had seen a bird. An odd feeling began to bubble out of his chest, it was rising and falling as he let out foreign sounds. He after so many years, he was finally free and he was laughing.

Sokka punched him in the shoulder, "can you stop that, you actually have a creepy laugh." Zuko stopped and rolled over.

"Screw you too," he was still panting for breath, "Dear Agni, I'm finally free." All of his combined experiences of happiness could not amount to his feelings of joy as he listened to nature as a free man. Nothing could come close to his feelings of happiness. He was finally free, after almost five years of being imprisoned because of his "suspected" firebending status, he was finally a free man.

"Oh dude…"

Zuko looked up, "what?"

"You got some in your teeth."

After a considerable amount of time, Zuko finally had ceased his vomiting when he was interrupted by the sounds of people approaching.

"Don't tell me, he's got a nervous stomach…" They were the women from before. Both of whom dressed as if they were ready for combat. One in a green and brown outfit with her shins, forearms and chest covered in leather gear. The other, the woman from the prison, was in a blue and dark grey outfit with the same leather protection gear, only hers slightly darker in color. Weapons adorned their belts. Zuko couldn't help but notice a symbol carved directly on the lower sternum of their armor. Two half moons with blunt tips facing in opposite directions with a thick outline. He knew that symbol from somewhere, but couldn't place it.

Zuko looked up and spat the vile taste in his mouth out at the river.

The one with short hair walked up to Sokka and dumped small bags at their feet.

"No time for chit-chat, we got to move."

Sprinting like wild men, they sped through the surrounding trees and kept to the outskirts of surrounding villages until they felt they were a safe distance away from the prison. They camped near a river to let the men scrub to their hearts content while the two women set up camp. As soon as they returned, they tossed the old prison uniforms into the camp fire.

The one with blue eyes looked up at them first as they came back. Sokka made a bee line for the woman with the short hair and dragged her deep into the woods. Zuko prayed they stayed out of hear shot.

"Want something to eat? It'll be a while before we make a camp like this again and have a hot meal." Zuko took the offered bowl. She eyed his outfit, "I didn't think you were that much bigger than my brother. Next time you hit a town you should exchange those clothes for a better fit." Zuko looked down. The green shirt was tight around his shoulders and stopped a couple inches before his wrists. The dark green pants looked worse, they stopped a few inches above his ankles but luckily he was able to cover that up by stuffing them in the boots. At least the boots fit, thank Agni for Sokka's large feet. "Well it seems you've kept your promise. What did Sokka say your reward was going to be?" Zuko looked away from her ice blue eyes.

"My freedom."

She looked towards her food. "I see. You may leave whenever you want then." He nodded and took a bite of his dinner. The food wasn't half bad, better than what he'd been fed in a long while and definitely better than his own cooking. After he finished his second helping he put his bowl down.

"What did it mean?"

Those ice blue eyes looked at him again. "What?"

"That code you told me, what did it mean?"

She raised an eyebrow, "oh, you mean SWT4?" He nodded. "It was a long time ago, but the Southern Water Tribe used to have specialized units that consisted of warriors who went on specific missions. Team 4 was one of them. Knowing Sokka, he probably beat Jet to a bloody pulp and didn't even say anything about it. Well, Jet was a member of team 4.

"He had only joined just recently, but he seemed dedicated. We all were. We were trying to stop the war at any cost. It had come to the point that even Fire Nation citizens hated the war, but wouldn't mention it for fear of losing everything, their lives especially. After my team completed a mission we were supposed to meet up with team 4. Jet was popular and was starting to attract a lot of people who were interested in joining our side. He even had a name for this "posse" as he called it. I can't remember the name, something like "Freedom Fighters," or something like that. Anyways, Jet was attracting a lot of attention and the people he let onto his team were not exactly the best kinds of folks to be around. After we met rendezvoused with the team, Sokka noticed something was off with them. He tried to talk to me but I wasn't about to go against someone on our side of the war. While we were outside a village, I had just returned from the market. I'm a medic so I was also trying my best to heal or cure the townspeople before our teams were leaving the area. They really needed all the help they could get." Zuko noticed her eyes seemed to darken a shade.

"I remember one little girl, Suri. She had just turned five and had broken an arm. She was so excited to see someone willing to help her. She was an orphan, you see. And I didn't care if she was Fire Nation, some things you don't do because they're just cruel." She paused for a second before continuing.

"When Jet found out that there were Fire Nation citizens in the town, he ordered his team to rig explosives along the nearby damn. He took a few extra and spread them around town. We woke up to the blasts and it was too late for us to help them. The village looked like it was sitting on burning water." She looked up into his eyes finally speaking in a softer tone, "I've never seen a child's body so mangled. He was excommunicated shortly after. We fight for justice with justice, he was fighting for his bloodlust."

Zuko could only nod. He could understand Sokka's anger, if only just a little.

She stood up abruptly and walked over to the bags. "Now if that's all, please leave. We're going to be heading out in the morning and I'm sure you have somewhere you want to get to."

A flare of anger burst through his chest. "Don't dismiss me like some pack animal, I'm not your servant."

"Then what is your business staying here?" Her eyes were glowing against the fire light.

"Nothing that would concern you, but I'm tired and I'm not about to trek through unknown woods at night." He leaned up against a nearby tree that surrounded the fire, "I'll be gone by morning." She could only give a "hmph" to his statement before turning around and carrying the used dishes to the river.

After waiting a few seconds to reassure that she was gone, Zuko leaned in towards the fire place. The heat from the fire felt just as sweet as his freedom. Slowly he got up and paced around the fire.

Surely the years of drinking that tea wouldn't effect his ability to continue firebending. He lifted a hand to coax the flames to lean towards him. They flickered and cracked like normal as if his burning desire to be reunited with his fire meant nothing. He glared into the fire as if it was the cause for his every misfortune. Anger swelled in his chest when he realized the fire wasn't even responding to his breathing. It existed with a life of its own, mocking him in his failure. The crackle of the wood sounded like a witches cackling to his ears. He had been drugged for so long, he feared that it would have long lasting effects if not permanent. He raised his arm to swipe at the mocking flames when a firm grip grabbed his wrist.

He shoved the intruder against the nearest tree. He didn't release his grasp even after he noticed that it was the woman. Her eyes showed no fear. He had become used to every bystander grimacing at his features, he knew he looked like a monster, might as well play the part.

"What do you think you're trying to pull? My contract with you is complete. I'm not a good person to be around, being housed in a prison should have helped indicate that." His hands shoved her shoulders against the tree a second time for emphasis.

She made a grab for his shirt. Funny, he couldn't feel his legs. Seconds after the thought registered in his brain Zuko found himself flying across the camping space and onto a nearby shrub. His body flew up and against another tree. He may not be able to control his body, but he sure as hell still felt the pain. He gritted his teeth as the wood dug into his back and the back of his head. His entire body was constricting, his lungs refused to let him breathe. He finally opened his eyes to glare at the woman in front of him.

"Try that stunt again and you'll be losing something you hold dear. Just because I'm a woman, don't make the mistake of thinking I'm weak and can be thrown around at your will. When I told you I was a powerful woman, I wasn't using my imagination."

Zuko gasped as he dropped to the forest floor.

"If you want your freedom then leave now. But if you decide to stay, I might make it worth your while." She crossed her arms against her chest. "My team is down one member. Stay and you'll be my right hand. Leave and you better hope you never see the likes of us again."

Zuko had finally regained his breath. He pushed himself off the floor and stalked over to her, he glared down with all his power, hoping his height would put fear in her eyes.

"What motive do I have to stay?"

"Swear to be my right hand, to serve and protect me when I ask and I will do the same for you. We, Water Tribe, take our oaths very seriously. I would be bound to my oath until my death. Besides, anyone related to the Fire Nation royalty would come in handy."

His eyes narrowed slightly. No one was privy to that information. She looked away towards the river with a smirk. She had won this round. "Your eyes gave you away. No one except the highest of royalty have golden eyes such as yours. I've hunted your kind enough to know who's legit, who's a bastard and who's a liar."

Zuko clenched his teeth as the words 'your kind' crawled into his skin. Having spent years being hunted for the sole purpose of 'being Fire Nation' toughens your skin against comments like that. 'His kind' had been running, a race of humans treated like animals whose sole purse of existence was to slaughter or be slaughtered. For being a part of the race who started the Great War, it doesn't come with any perks. Any one suspected of being Fire Nation, or Agni forbid a firebender, is immediately thrown into a prison with no questions asked. Being Fire Nation outside the Fire Nation is a fatal life choice. But unlucky for him, being in the Fire Nation was just as lethal. And guessing by the surrounding area he must have been dragged smack-dab in the middle of the Earth Kingdom.

He had no where to go. He would either die from starvation, the elements or from an angry mob. His best bet was to stay with this woman and hope he wasn't placing himself in another kind of slavery.

Against his will Zuko bowed his head and kneeled. He would stay with them until they traveled to somewhere safer, he'd make his true escape then.

"I swear to serve and protect you and only you." She couldn't help but notice his emphasis on 'only'.

As he rose from the ground she extended her hand for a warrior's grip.

"I swear by oath to serve and protect you with all the strength provided by La and the courage provided by Tui. I swear until my dying breath. The name's Katara." Her eyes had returned to their ice blue color.

"Zuko." As he clasped her forearm, she couldn't help but notice the golden freckles near his pupils that glowed in the fire light.

**A/N:**

I'm trying to proof-read before I submit but if there's anything I need to fix please let me know! The symbol I talked about earlier is the Adinkra symbol for freedom if you guys wanted to know what it looks like. I had the first two chapters written and I couldn't resist updating. Chapter 3 and 4 are outlined and almost fully written, so maybe they'll be out soon! No promises tho...

So I just looked at the first chapter and I realized none of my dividers were included in the upload and I'm slightly ashamed of myself…I hope they worked this time.

Comments, questions, and reviews are greatly appreciated!


	3. The First Mission

Latent

Chapter 3

The First Mission

Disclaimer: I own nothing….sadly….soooooooo much would have changed if they put a tyrant like me in charge chanting ZUTARA ALL THE WAY! ;D

_As he shook her hand, she couldn't help but notice the golden freckles near his pupils that glowed in the fire light._

Suki and Sokka had departed early the next morning. Zuko didn't remember when the two had made it back to camp, but he wasn't exactly waiting for them to stumble back in. The two were leaving for Kyoshi Island and Sokka was the least bit happy leaving his younger sister with a stranger, a Fire Nation stranger no less.

"Sokka stop being an idiot before I waterbend you down the river again! I'll be fine! Besides I needed another person to join my squad and if he's good enough for you to bust out of prison he's good enough to wander around with me…alone…in a strange land…" Katara put a finger to her chin and gave a wiggle of her eyebrows.

"That's IT! Katara you're coming with us!" Zuko didn't know a man's voice could reach that high an octave. Suki stepped in and grabbed her boyfriend by his collar and hauled him closer to her.

"Sokka you better stop before you say something you're going to regret." The group could see the sweat immediately accumulate around Sokka's forehead. "Now why don't you be a good boyfriend and pack our things ok?" With a "humph" and a warning glare in Zuko's direction, Sokka wandered over to their bags.

Suki walked over to Katara and the two shared a big embrace before Suki added in, "I know you're a big girl and can handle yourself, but if he's too much to handle you know what to do." Suki leaned back and gave her a wink. Katara giggled and whispered to Suki, the rebel's green eyes went wide. "You didn't!"

Suki turned to Zuko before adding, "it feels weird huh? Having Katara move your body for you."

Zuko didn't realize they were finally talking to him. He put rubbed the back of his neck before adding,

"Yeah, not exactly the nicest experience but it gets the message across I guess..." He let his sentence drift off.

"Exactly! I know my favorite future-sister-in-law can take care of anything or anyone!" Her tone dropped a little as she took a couple steps and stopped in front of Zuko, "which is why if you do anything to hurt her I will personally captain the entire Kyoshi Warrior squadron to hunt you down and skin you like an animal and use you for my winter coat." Zuko didn't miss the baiting look in her eyes before he looked away with indifference.

"Okay Suki…I think that's enough threatening for now. You guys are going to miss the evening ship if you continue to harass my new partner!"

Sokka stood behind Suki with a proud look in his eyes before he gave one last hug to Katara. With a smile on his face he swung his arm over Suki's shoulder before walking off. Katara tried her hardest to not see the look Sokka gave Suki as he nuzzled her cheek, nor the sparkle of devotion in Suki's eyes as the couple wandered away from them. She squashed the feelings of jealousy rising up with ease.

Katara and Zuko looked at each other awkwardly now that they were alone. A couple seconds later Sokka's voice rang out, "WE'RE GONNA GETCHA!" followed by Suki's laughter.

Katara let out an awkward laugh before letting out a groan and rolling her eyes.

Katara liked the fact that now it was just her and Zuko. He was like a new toy. Something new and foreign and she had no idea what his history was or who he is as a person. Granted it might not be something cute and fluffy from all of his time in the Earth Kingdom prison, but he was still someone she could discover about.

They headed West towards a small village just south of Omashu. It was the closest village and Zuko badly needed supplies, like clothes and not-Sokka's socks. They reached the town before noon and managed to gather all the needed supplies before heading back out. Katara didn't want to spend extra money on an inn and it seemed cleaner to sleep out in the woods than in one of those rooms. Katara tried not to squish up her nose at the idea.

They managed to find a nice little field close to the city and made camp near the tree line. Dinner was becoming silent and uneventful. Katara spent the entire time studying her new partner. Unfortunately, Zuko noticed every time she looked at him.

"Will you stop? It's a little unnerving." Zuko said into his dinner, not once looking up.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she replied sarcastically, "I'm just trying to figure out about you on my own since you haven't said a damned word all day."

"I'm not that interesting of a guy, I promise you."

Katara gave him a look, "well I beg to differ, everyone has an interesting story." Zuko ignored her and returned to his meal. After he finished his dinner and wiped down his plate, he stood up and started to walk away. Katara looked at him worriedly.

"Where are you-"

"Be back later." He gave a wave of his hand, not even bothering to turn around. Katara sat there dumbfounded. She didn't know if he had balls of iron or if he was just stupid. She waited until he was out of sight before she put her utensils down.

Following him should have been easy. She had been honing her skills as a tracker in the Earth Kingdom for most of her life, but this man was the first one who seemed to walk through the forest like a ghost. Nothing was overturned, no branches broken and definitely no sight of Sokka's muddy boot prints. Katara shivered at the haunting thought before shaking her head to clear herself of the idea. She was just about to give up when she spotted another clearing ahead. Albeit a much smaller clearing than the one they were currently camped in, but it was something nonetheless.

She lowered herself as she slowly crept forward. Sounds of what she assumed of someone training were slowly getting louder as she approached. She knelt behind a bush and slowly moved the center branches to peer through.

Zuko stood in the middle of the clearing doing what she assumed were strength exercises. She had to admit, he was beautiful when he was shirtless. He had started to sweat from his workout and it wasn't hurting his image in the slightest. Katara could feel a smirk coming on as she continued to watch.

Zuko alternated from kicking to punching to what looked like jump kicks. She paused, is he doing a bending form? She could have sworn Zuko said he wasn't a bender. She scrutinized his moves again, even as graceful as they were, she could tell a bending move when she saw one. More specifically a firebending move. So why wasn't he doing it?

She watched on as he changed to stretch before alternating between different styles of push ups. She was waiting for him to firebend, but she had been watching for almost twenty minutes and still no sign. Katara figured it was a good thing, she wouldn't have known what she would do if her new partner ended up being a firebender. It was going to be hard enough convincing her father and the other commanders that lead their war effort to let him officially join their ranks with his Fire Nation heritage, but if he was a firebender they'd take his life, no questions asked. And according to Southern Water Tribe law, it was her hand that would end his life for being the first to discover him. It was unfortunate but it was the way of the world. Firebenders were the reason for this war and they showed time and time again their cruelty towards other people.

She closed her eyes as she remembered her encounters with so many firebenders and their unwavering lust for death on the battlefield. Katara couldn't think for a second what'd she do if Zuko ended up being some firescum like them. The hotter their flames became the more blood they craved. It was almost as if the heat had scrambled their brains turning them into killing machines. The hotter their flame the less likely they were to resist. Katara had never met a firebender that wasn't after spilt blood.

Shortly after that thought she retreated back to their camp. She needed time to think and reassure herself. He moved too gracefully for a non-bender but that shouldn't be her only justification for her thoughts. It would be cruel to slit his throat while he was sleeping because he turned out to be graceful and could land a flip.

She slumped into her mat in defeat. Her thoughts could wait for her until morning when she could at least reason a bit better after a good nights rest.

A couple minutes after her head hit her pillow she heard Zuko walk back into camp. She feinted sleep and watched through her lashes as he grabbed his water canteen out of his bag and headed out of camp once more, only this time headed towards the town.

She was only just waking when Zuko wandered back towards their camp around dawn. She didn't miss that his shirt was wrinkled even more so and his face showed extreme exhaustion. She scrunched her nose at the possibilities of why his shirt was in such a state and turned over in her mat for a couple more minutes of sleep.

Zuko came to the conclusion that Katara was as threatening as a tiny rabbit cat, and the vendors in the market saw her as just that.

Katara was currently attempting to haggle in the town market over this week's groceries. Zuko couldn't help himself as he smirked underneath his hood. Winter winds had crept up on the land quickly and it eased the excuse for Zuko to constantly leave his hood in place. It lessened the suspicion as well as was convenient for hiding his distinct Fire Nation features.

Zuko's smirk was threatening to spill over to both sides of his face in making a complete smile when he heard the vendor increase his prices once again. Yeah, Katara may be powerful and scary like Zuko knows she tries to be, but she's still an idiot like her brother when it comes to certain things like shopping under the only vendor who looked just as stubborn as she was. She couldn't have gone for the smiling grandmother a couple stalls down…

The vendor's voice started to get a little loud, when the conversation had turned sour between the two and they were just throwing insults back and forth, Zuko decided to emerge from his hiding place. He walked silently to Katara and loomed over her from behind. He made sure to keep his hood up and give the vendor a menacing glare followed by his best attempt at an evil smile. He folded his arms in a slow threatening manner for added effect.

The vendor's bushy grey eyebrows jumped towards his non-existent hairline at the site of the newest customer.

"What, old man? Scared to be taken on by a woman? Huh?" Katara hadn't even noticed.

"Um…um…" the vendor stumbled over his words, "you know what I'll agree to your prices." Katara jumped in glee as the vendor bagged all of her groceries and even threw in a few extra items before thrusting his skinny arms towards her, bags in hand. Zuko smirked as the vendor was trembling, "here just take them. Have a nice day ma'am!" And with that he rushed out the back door.

"Yeah, yeah, you try and give me a run for my money," Katara mumbled a few extra curses at the vendor. She turned and was surprised to find Zuko behind her. "Oh! I didn't see you there. Ready to go?" Zuko nodded his head, taking her groceries as she walked towards him. Katara looked up at him with a sparkle to her blue eyes, "did you see me haggle with that vendor? I almost had to pull 'Katara haggle strategy number 12,' but he was lucky he gave in before I was reduced to such a method!" Katara beamed at her victory.

Zuko swiped a red apple from the corner of the stand before they both headed off. Katara eyed him at his actions and Zuko shrugged as he munched away.

An hour after finally restocking all of their supplies, the couple meandered through the last couple of curiosity shops. Zuko hadn't exactly been excited about the trip into town, but stopped walking when he passed something in the window that caught his eye. He didn't even mention anything as he walked into the store. Katara only noticed when his uh-huh's and mhmm's suddenly ceased and turned to follow him into the store.

She had finally caught up to him and found him looking at a large collection of various swords on display. Mentally she calculated the money left over and the price of the swords and noticed it was the exact same. Hopefully she could work her Southern Water Tribe charm and see if she could save a few coins. Katara sauntered up behind Zuko and nudged him on the forearm.

"What do you think?"

He stayed silent as he inspected a sword. She had still been expecting him to bust out with firebending moves, but if he was a swordsman that would explain his moves in the field the other night. Katara looked at him again before waving the store clerk over. She could have sworn he moved like he was an elemental master that night.

"You like what you see mah boy?" The store clerk asked in a deep raspy tone. His belly bounced up and down as he talked.

"Just looking," Zuko replied.

"Well you do need a weapon and I don't know when we'll see the next town." Katara leaned closer towards Zuko's ear so only he could hear, "we have enough. If you like them, get them."

Zuko looked over and gave her a questioning look. "Are you sure? We could probably spend it on something more useful-"

Katara cut him off with a wave of her hand. "Don't even start! Why don't you just leave this to me and I'll meet you outside?" Zuko saw the insanity light up her eyes at the prospect of being able to haggle once more. Not wanting to refuse her while she had that look in her eye, Zuko backed away slowly and out of the shop. Standing outside he could hear the clerk and Katara arguing.

A couple minutes later, Katara emerged from the store with an added bounce to her step.

"Congratulations! You now have a sword!" She swung the sword by it's strap towards him. He caught the blade in the air, thankful she had thought to demand for the sheath as well.

"Correction Katara," Zuko spoke slowly as he unsheathed the new sword. "These are twin blade dao swords," on the last word he swung the swords breaking them away from each other before joining them together and sliding them into their sheath. Katara's eyes were wide.

"Whoops, I guess the guy was right." Zuko looked up at her in confusion. She let out a nervous laugh, "see I might have accidentally been convinced it was one sword, and he said there were two. I thought he was trying to pull the wool over my eyes saying there were two and I…kinda sorta bent him up against the wall…" She added what she thought was an adorable smile. "In my defense, I honestly thought there was only one!"

Zuko let out a short scoff before tying the swords across his back. "Let's get out of here before he calls the guards on us." Katara smiled up at him and followed him out of the city.

It wasn't until later that night when Katara started the conversation again over dinner.

"Hey Zuko?" He looked up, she stopped her speech long enough to let the image of his golden eyes settle in her mind. The golden flecks were glowing brightly with the fire. "Don't be mad, but what are you doing with a pair of swords? I'm obviously wrong, but for some reason I always thought you would be a bender." Her comments slowly trailed off.

Zuko stiffened in his seat. It was a while before he answered, "I wasn't gifted like the rest of my family." Katara looked away before nodding. She couldn't understand, but she had the distinct feeling he wasn't telling the truth. She looked at him once more before starting another topic.

Katara jumped out of her skin when she felt the talons on her stomach. She had been woken up out of a dead sleep. Groggy and disoriented she swiped at the area above her stomach only to be nipped by whatever animal was there.

"Ahhh!" She drew her arms back to protect her face as the animal jumped to her shoulders.

"Katara, what's going on?" Zuko's voice a little more raspy than normal.

She screamed once more as the claws dug into the material around her chest. She tried to roll away and was only hindered by her sleeping bag. As ungracefully as possible, she managed to roll over. Flailing all limbs in the process to get away from the crazed animal. Finally the animal was off. She looked up and noticed Zuko standing above her with the demonic animal on his arm. She glared at the messenger hawk as she stood. She knew that damned animal…it was Hawky. She could have sworn the animal would be laughing if it could. She started to look around for her water skin, slapping around on the ground madly to find it.

"Katara calm down." He had the animal on his arm and reached for the barrel on its back. Once he took it out the hawk flapped its wings and took off, he swooped near Katara's head, she ducked, in his ascension towards the tree tops. His talons micrometers away from her hair.

Holding her arms above her head for a second before looking back up to where the hawk might have gone to, Katara grabbed her water skin and lashed out blindly towards the sky.

"Whoa!" Zuko dodged the second water whip and slid closer to Katara to grab her wrists. "Damn it, calm down! It's just a bird!"

"That bird," she said the last word as menacingly as she could, "has always had it out for me. One of these days I'm gonna have fried messenger hawk for DINNER!" She was actually shouting it towards the tree tops. Zuko had a hold of both her wrists by now. He wasn't about to defend a bird from a raging water bender but he needed to stop her if he was going to survive the night.

Grabbing her wrists in a firmer hold, he brought both of her arms down to get her attention.

"Katara," she looked at him in the eyes before letting out a deep sigh and flipping her palms upwards in his grasp as a sign of defeat. He let go reluctantly.

She walked over and grabbed the small paper off the floor. Zuko eyed her as she read the message.

"It's from our base camp." She held a hand in front of her mouth, "it says they received a distressed message from a village on the eastern side of Omashu and want us to make a pit stop there before coming back to base camp. There's a family who's child was kidnapped by a bounty hunter and is taking the child to a prison." She looked up at Zuko, "what do you think?"

"Let's go. We're up anyways and it's only an hour before dawn. We can get an early start if we leave now." Zuko was packing away his things as he spoke.

Katara agreed with him, but it still didn't make her happy to leave her warm bed.

They had managed to reach the house somewhere around midmorning. Per instructions to the letter, the family lived near the town well. Katara knocked on the door.

"Hello?" A woman in her early thirties opened the door. Katara noticed the worn clothing and the dark circles under her eyes before greeting her with a smile.

"Hi, my name's Katara. We received a letter that your son was kidnapped and we wanted to offer our services." The woman's eyes brightened.

"Oh! Please come in! I'm sorry the place is such a mess but I haven't been exactly in the best state of mind." She led Katara and Zuko to a couch in the living room. The woman ran off to the kitchen to start some tea and brought back a picture frame.

"My name is Mei Ling and this is my son Tai. He was kidnapped two days ago by a bounty hunter. He said the child looked like a firebender but I swear my son is an Earth Kingdom boy." Her hands shook as they held out the picture frame to Katara. "His features are really fair but he was wrongfully taken. Please bring him back to me."

Zuko took the frame from Katara. Sure enough the boy had the fairest features available with light green eyes, pale skin and black brown hair. He could tell instantly he wasn't even remotely Fire Nation, but bounty hunters aren't exactly known for being correct a hundred percent of the time. Zuko felt his face harden, the kid couldn't have been older than 5.

"What's going on down there?" A gruff voice sounded off at the top of the stairs. A man emerged seconds later and looked at the guests. "Mei what are they doing here?" The man kept a firm glare towards Zuko.

"They just came, they said they could help bring Tai back." The woman was begging her husband. Tears were welling up in her eyes.

"They're just here for money. Well look, we don't have any money for a reward." The man turned to look at his wife, "look at him Mei, they're probably just going to kidnap Tai and keep him for their own." The man turned with an accusing finger towards Zuko. "Especially you, we don't need no help from Fire Nation trash like you. You'll get our son killed just by havin' that face of yours!"

Katara stood with her hands up, "sir-"

"No! Get out of this house!"

"Please, let them help!" Mei Ling had both hands strangling the front of her husbands shirt. "Please…"

Katara's fists were clenched at her sides. "Don't go making accusations before you know people!" She threw a finger in Zuko's direction, "this guy is the best damn fighter I've seen in years and you should be happy we're offering to help-" She paused when she felt Zuko's hand over hers, she prayed he wasn't going to correct her bluff.

"Sir, I know my appearances my prevent you from making the right decision, but believe my words when I say that I will bring your son back." There was something in his eyes. Katara couldn't place it, but it almost looked like...sympathy?

The husband seemed to catch the look too and looked down at Mei's hands strangling his shirt. He let out a shaky huff before slowly removing her hands. The husband took a step towards Zuko, the room was quiet when the husband bowed to the floor. "Then please, I beg you" the husband's voice broke from the strain, "please bring my son back." He sat back on his feet and looked up at Zuko. Zuko's gaze never faltered as he nodded.

Katara and Zuko managed to find a man fitting the description the couple gave them. They had been informed he was heading southeast to the Fang Shen Prison, the same prison Zuko had just escaped. The bounty hunter huddled over his fire with his dragon moose standing nearby, the animal still attached to a carriage carrying what looked like a metal cage. Only the door contained bars and from their position they were unable to verify if the kid was inside.

They crept as close as they could to the bounty hunter while staying within the tree line, hidden from view. Lucky for them, their spots were hidden by the cover of night. They crept up to the back portion of the carriage, keeping it between them and the bounty hunter. As they crept closer they could hear bits of conversation coming from the bounty hunter. It seemed he was trying to get the kid to be quiet. A couple of times the bounty hunter out right shouted "Shut UP!" towards the cage. Zuko sprinted to a covered spot behind carriage. The dragon moose not noticing the new company and the bounty hunter too focused on his food cooking over the fire to pay any attention. Katara caught up to him, squatting down right beside him. Katara pointed to Zuko motioning for him to attack the bounty hunter, she pointed towards herself then motioning towards the cage. Zuko nodded and froze. The sound of a young boy whimpering and sniffing echoed out from the metal cage.

"I said SHUT IT ya little rat weasel!" The sound of a metal bat hitting the cage rang in Katara's ears.

Katara would never have been able to react fast enough in stopping Zuko. Before she even realized, Zuko had sprung from their hiding spot with his swords out, the reflection of the fire light seemed to make his swords glow.

She had no idea what he was doing. He was ruining their only chance of surprise! Charging in like that before even knowing what weapons their opponent had was reckless! Katara gasped in surprise and sprinted around to the other side, clambering on slow limbs to catch up. What exactly did he have in mind? Why was Zuko being so reckless? The sounds of steel meeting metal rang through the night. She was behind the bounty hunter, water at the ready and whipped at the bounty hunter's stance from the other side of the animal, shattering his balance.

And just as she suspected, the bounty hunter sprinted to the other side trying to escape Zuko. She was waiting for this.

The bounty hunter was taken by surprise when a sharp water whip slashed at his shoulder. Katara let out a confident smirk as his face retracted in horror. Zuko jumped and flipped over the animal, landing silently behind the bounty hunter, his blade around the man's neck.

"Give me one good reason not to slice your head off right now," Zuko growled.

The bounty hunter let out a yell as he grabbed a dagger strapped to his thigh and aimed for Zuko's eye behind him. Ice encased the bounty hunter's fist stopping the dagger only an inch away from Zuko's scarred eye.

"Go get the kid, I got this one." Katara's water froze around his arm and slowly expanded her water to make its way to the man's face. Zuko nodded before letting the man go and running around to the front of the cage.

Zuko hadn't noticed before, but there was a tarp draped over the cage. Flipping it over easily he looked inside. Sure enough, the kid identical to the picture frame sat huddled against the back wall of the cage whimpering and shaking. Zuko took a slow step forward and drew a sword out, swinging at the lock and shattering it into pieces upon the first strike. The child was nearly in tears.

Zuko held his hands up and dropped his swords slowly.

"Hey buddy," Zuko slowly opened the door. "We're here to rescue you and take you home. My name is Zuko, what's yours?" Zuko faintly could hear a mumbled "Tai."

"AAAHHH!" The bounty hunter's yell frightened Tai and he scrambled to the corner farthest away from Zuko. He could hear Katara let out a grunt before it was quiet again. The dragon moose shuffled a bit as

Katara rounded the animal. She released the animal from the carriage and took off his reins. The animal looked at her before beginning to eat some nearby foliage. As Katara moved closer to Zuko and the boy, she noticed the animal followed her as well. She caught Zuko's glance and nodded.

Zuko extended his arms slowly out, "Tai, can we take you home?"

Immediately the child began sobbing and jumped towards Zuko. He grunted at the direct force to his chest and quickly wrapped his arms around the child, stroking his back to comfort him. Tai had his arms tightly wrapped around his neck, not even once loosening or letting go.

Katara watched Zuko hold the child, stroking his back and patting his head, telling him everything was going to be okay.

"Shh, it's okay little guy. We're going to bring you home. It's okay. You're okay. Shh…"

He seemed familiar with kids, she thought. The child cried in Zuko's arms the entire way back to their camp, not once letting go.

Katara walked silently behind the two, her water skin at the ready. She felt something on her cheek, she swiped at it and examined her fingers. Blood was smeared on the tops of her fingers. She quickly used her water to wash away any drops of the bounty hunter's blood before Tai could see. The dragon moose followed silently behind her.

Not once did she let her eyes leave Zuko. They made no attempts at conversation as Tai's sniffles and cries rang out into the night followed by Zuko's voice softly whispering back.

The three finally made it back to camp thirty minutes later. The boy had fallen asleep in Zuko's arms. As Zuko laid out his bed roll and attempted to put Tai to bed, the boy's grip around his neck only got tighter. Giving up, Zuko grabbed the sleeping mat and laid it against the base of a thick tree. Katara watched the entire ordeal with a smile. She tied the reins of the dragon moose to a nearby tree, making sure to leave as much slack as possible for him to eat.

"Are you familiar with having kids around? You're really good with that little one," Katara asked while she prepped the fire for the night.

Zuko's eyes seemed to darken as he sat and stared at the fire place. He closed his eyes. Katara thought he had ignored her completely and jumped a little when he finally spoke.

"I used to have a family. I used to be married too but I guess it ends when they die. She was so beautiful too. And we had the most beautiful baby boy." He swallowed at the tightness of his voice and the thick pain building in his chest. "Our boy was born sick. We knew he was going to be sick before he was born. We had trouble starting a family and the doctor kept telling us that her pregnancy wasn't going according to plan. We were even advised against having a baby since my wife's health would be at risk, but we were young and didn't care." He paused, "she wanted a baby so badly."

Zuko shifted in his seat before he continued. He looked at Katara, her eyes encouraging him to continue.

"Twice he almost died before his birth and the last one her life was at risk too. He was born early and he had this disease where his organs weren't in the right place. They were on the outside of his body and they were covered in this purple film from his body. His name was Cahir." Zuko didn't realize he had been rubbing circles in Tai's back. He wasn't sure if he was comforting the boy or himself.

Katara's gaze never faltered. She remained silent, encouraging him to continue for as long as he needed. Zuko looked down at the boy, "He was my little warrior. With his disease, our doctor said it would be hard for him to breath. That we should be blessed that he survived the birth and if he made it to his second birthday that his chances for survival increased dramatically. My boy fought for his life every day, but at some point it was too much. He died shortly after his nine month birthday." Zuko let out a shaky breath. After all these years it was still hard to think of his son's face. He let his hand rub the boy's back, trying to imagine his joy during his days with Cahir. Little golden eyes stared back at him. He was more of a fighter than his father would ever be.

"Our village was raided later that year, my wife was murdered and I was dragged to prison…end of story."

Zuko looked up to Katara. How was it that he could say everything, she hadn't said a word, and he still felt comforted. He hadn't told anyone his past, even through all of the years he was locked away. Zuko patted the back of Tai's head before looking at Katara once more, "okay, your turn."

Katara's eyes widened. "I don't even know where to start after that." She paused and looked down at her hands. "Well you know I'm from the Southern Water Tribe. I was working with my dad for the rebellion before I hit the proper marrying age. But by then, no man wanted a quote-un-quote man for their wife." She motioned in the air for imaginary quotation marks. "It's against our culture for a woman to work. I said screw them and I've been living the high life ever since." Katara leaned against her pack, "never been married, never had a kid. Don't think I'd want one with this war and all. Selfishly, hell yes…realistically, no way in hell. Besides I'm too old now to even start one." Katara looked up at Zuko with a sarcastic smile, "you're looking at the sexiest spinster from the Southern Water Tribe."

Zuko smirked, Katara could see the laughter reach his eyes. Her voice went soft before she continued, "I'm sorry about your family."

Zuko scoffed, "I don't need your pity. It's all in the past anyways-" Zuko stopped talked at Tai's movement. He shifted his head to Zuko's other shoulder and let out a yawn before snuggling back in. Zuko readjusted the blanket before he continued, "we should probably go to bed. He'll be up early and I'm sure he's eager to go home." Zuko effectively stopped the conversation as he tilted his head towards Tai's and closed his eyes.

Katara heard a mumbled 'goodnight' from her partner before she turned away in her own sleeping mat, shutting her eyes against the image of Zuko holding a dead infant close to his chest.

Tai's reunion with his family was a heartfelt one. As soon as his house was in view Tai had leapt out of Zuko's arms and sprinted towards the house screaming for his parents. Mei Ling and her husband emerged from the small cabin. She sprinted down the road and knelt to the ground just before Tai leapt into her arms. Tears were streaming down both their faces. The mother held onto her son, repeating over and over how much she love him. The father sprinted and hugged his family on the ground. Kissing his son's and wife's head over and over. Katara and Zuko stopped a couple paces away to give the small family some privacy.

Tai turned around, successfully prying himself from his parents grip and sprinted towards Katara giving her legs a big hug and then turned towards Zuko giving him a hug as well. Grabbing one hand from each, Tai walked them closer to his parents, "Mama? Can they stay with us forever?"

Mei Ling's laughter rang out with warmth, "I don't think they can stay forever, but I'm sure they can stay for lunch." Her voice trailed off in question towards the two fighters. Zuko looked at Katara with his eyebrow raised, Katara turned back to them, their hands still in Tai's grip.

"We'd be happy to stay for lunch."

Mei Ling stood up quickly, happiness and excitement in her eyes as she rushed off to start lunch. The husband picked up Tai and gave him a firm squeeze before turning to Zuko.

"I'm sorry I ever doubted you." The husband extended his hand out for a shake towards Zuko, "my name's Jin." Zuko shook his hand, "thank you for bringing my boy home." With that Jin turned towards the house, Tai looked over his shoulder and eagerly motioned for Katara and Zuko to come inside.

Katara stepped forward but stopped when she noticed Zuko hadn't moved. She looked at him, his brow was furrowed together and his face was guarded. She placed a hand on his arm but he turned avoiding her touch.

"I'm fine. Just thinking." He grabbed the animals reins and fastened it to the fence surrounding the property before stalking off towards the house leaving Katara outside.

Lunch was a hearty meal of meat and potatoes with boiled cabbage on the side. The four adults sat at a low table with Tai bouncing between laps. Tai had been able to stall Zuko and Katara by wanted to show them all of his toys. His father cut him off when he tried have Katara meet all of the animals.

"Do they really have to go Dad?" Tai's eyes were close to tears.

"Yes, son. I'm sure they have to go and save other kids from other villages," Jin said as he patted Tai's head. He looked up to the two guests, "please, if you're ever nearby and need a place to stay or want a decent meal, please come to visit. You're always welcome here."

Katara nodded her head in thanks. "If you're ever in need of help, please find us." She leaned down so she was level with Tai, "it was nice meeting you-OH!" Tai had leaned in and gave Katara a big wet kiss on her cheek. Mei Ling laughed and even Zuko managed to let out a one of his silent smirks.

Shortly after, Katara and Zuko were walking out of town. They had decided to head towards Omashu to restock on weapons and supplies.

"Hey, stop for a second." Katara stopped Zuko as she grabbed his arm. "I just wanted to say, you were amazing back there, with Tai. I'm glad to have you as a partner." Her genuine feelings leaking into her voice against her will.

Zuko looked away and shakes his arm out of her hold. "Don't go saying those things just yet, you don't know me and if you did, you'd be saying quite the opposite." His voice carried more anger in it than she suspected. He walked away.

The dragon moose nuzzled it's head into Katara's neck, letting his ears rub along her hair. She looked to the animal, "well at least you're nice to me." She patted it's soft brown nose, the fleshy tendrils hanging from it's mouth flowed through the air as if they were weeds underwater. "I don't supposed you have a name I could call you?" The animal ignored her and continued to rub it's nose into her neck. She smiled, "you definitely are a sweetheart."

Katara turned her eyes back to Zuko, watching his back in confusion as he continued walking down the path alone.

**A/N:**

The story of Cahir is actually based on a true story. A child can be born like that, the diagnosis is called "omphalocele". For the love of God do not Google image search it, you will ruin your minds, it's not always that gruesome! Cahir is actually a Gaelic name meaning: "battle man," "warrior," and/or "guard". I know ATLA uses Asian style names but I kind of fell in love with the name as soon as I saw it. It's pronounced KA-heer if you're wondering.

So I know the rating for this is "T" but I decided to increase the rating because I was starting to feel restricted with my writing and ideas for the story all so that it could stay within a T rating. Also, in the next chapter there are gruesome fight scenes and possibly be too graphic for a T rating so I up'ed it just to be safe.

Please review! It helps me figure out if you guys like the story or if there are elements I'm missing. Please! Please! Please! Or just say hi J

You'll always be in my heart little man 3


	4. Savior

Chapter 4

Savior

Disclaimer: Nope…nada…zilch…it's all Mike & Bryan and Nickelodeon

**WARNING:** dark themes and violence ahead

_Katara turned her eyes back to Zuko, watching his back in confusion as he continued walking down the path alone._

"So what are we going to name him?" Katara motioned over to the furry animal currently eating the surrounding sedge. The sun had finally started to ascend into the sky signaling the end of a week's time passed since their first mission together.

Zuko tried to ignore her. "The animal doesn't need to be named. He probably couldn't tell his head from his ass if you asked him." He didn't even look up from what he was doing at his comment. Katara ignored him.

"What about Ducky? You know, because his ears look like a turtle ducks-"

"No."

"Oh! Or how about GonGon? You know, because he won't leave?" She continued unfazed.

"No," Katara looked at the top of his head. She could have sworn her eyebrow had started to twitch.

"Or how about Horny because of his-"

"NO KATARA, I refuse to ride an animal that's been dubbed Horny." He looked up with a scowl on his face when she had been silent for too long. As soon as she saw his face she couldn't contain her laughter behind her hand any longer. Zuko rubbed his hands over his face and growled.

"Gotcha to say it." She couldn't stop her giggles from escaping. After she finally calmed down, she tapped her fingers on her mouth in thought. "You know, I'm actually starting to like the name Ducky."

"NO."

"Then what do you think we should name him? Huh?" Katara was baiting him and he knew it. Zuko looked up at the animal. It was a huge brown animal, with brown fur covering it from head to hoof and had a mane of dark brown hair around his neck and the top of his head. Zuko shrugged.

"Ummm…Brownie?"

Katara gasped, "that's a horrible name! We can't call our ferocious dragon moose BROWNIE?!"

With a straight face Zuko gave "Brownie" a once over from where he sat. "Oh yeah Katara, he's a really ferocious-OW!" "Brownie" had nipped at Zuko's shirt collar and had also managed to grab a part of Zuko. He swatted the animal away. "It's not like yours are any better!"

"How about we just call him both?" Zuko rolled his eyes. She must have been an infuriating keeper of peace in her past life. "What'd ya say? Ducky Brownie!" Zuko groaned.

"No I'm sticking with my name…how about just B?" The dragon moose nudged his head in the middle of Zuko's back and successfully pushed him a few paces forward. Zuko was lucky he had the mind to brace himself before he was sprawled face down on the forest floor.

"But seriously, like just the letter B? I actually think he likes that. Huh B?" 'B' wandered over to Katara and started to nuzzle her neck, his fleshy tendrils tickling her skin. "Fine I guess. B it is. Although I still think Ducky would have been a better choice, but I'm not about to argue with an animal that weights a ton." She scratched his nose the way he liked.

Zuko tied a knot on the strings of the last pack and secured it onto B. After the packs were secured tightly, he held out his hand for Katara to help her up. "You ready…T?"

"You did not just reduce my name to one letter." Zuko let out his signature scoffing laughter and grabbed a hold of Katara's waist, lifting her with ease to settle her on the mount. Zuko let his right hand linger on her thigh to make sure she was balanced. Katara grabbed onto his hand before he could let go and smiled. He looked up at her, the flecks in his eyes sparkling.

"Thanks for the lift." He gave a squeeze before letting his hand slip away. She barely heard a "no problem" as he grabbed onto B's reins and walked with the animal towards the nearby road.

Katara's heart fluttered as she watched his shoulders. She was smiling at the memory of his eyes before he turned away. He might finally be starting to warm up to her. She stopped her thinking, her mind was going down a dangerous path. She watched the movement of his shirt slide back and forth over his shoulder blades as he walked. She definitely needed to stop thinking.

The two had finally managed to find an inn with an attached barn in the city of Omashu. At least they wouldn't have needed to leave B outside the city walls. After settling the animal up in the barn, the two headed towards the main area of the inn. The lobby area was split into sections as soon as you entered. To the left going down a couple stairs was a bar area and towards the right going up a couple of steps was the main front desk. A large staircase in the back going up two floors led to the rooms. Katara and Zuko took two small single rooms with a connecting bathroom, Katara opted for the larger room.

"I'm going to wash up before they serve dinner. Can I just meet you downstairs?" Katara said through Zuko's closed bathroom door. She could hear Zuko mumble "sure" through the wooden door before she heard his bedroom door close and his footsteps retreating down the hall.

Almost an hour had passed by and Zuko was sitting at the bar, staring into his glass of the world's worst mug of ale when Katara finally managed to make it downstairs. He gave her a look before returning his gaze to the collage of posters on the wall behind the bartender. Her laughter fluttered over the busy bar. He looked over at her to see Katara holding a drink of her own and talking to some Earth Kingdom guy. Zuko sulked deeper in his chair. He prayed to the gods that the walls separating their rooms would be thick enough so he wouldn't have to listen all night.

Zuko watched the guy slide his hand around Katara's waist. She laughed again and turned her head looking around. When her eyes finally landed on Zuko she smirked, but it was something in her eyes that made Zuko wary. The Earth Kingdom guy's hand hovered over Katara's drink for a second before dropping a small white tablet. Zuko felt his body turn to stone. She took a sip as the guy whispered something into her ear, making her laugh again. Zuko couldn't place it, but her laughter was getting…slower. He didn't like where this was going. Leaving his ale on the bar he made his way to Katara. She was already half way out the door, the expression on her face catatonic.

"Hey, get your hands off of her." Why in the hell was he was playing hero all of a sudden? She was going to pay dearly tomorrow morning for this.

"Come on man, I saw her first." The Earth Kingdom guy let out a slippery smile. Zuko smacked away the guy's hand that was on Katara with an open fist and moved to put an arm around her. The other guy's face shriveled in anger and lunged for Zuko's neck. He easily evaded, bringing one arm around the guy's neck, and bent the man's body backwards over his knee.

"Leave…her…alone," he couldn't have sounded more threatening if he tried. The guy swung his arm up, aiming for a solid punch to Zuko's face. Shouts around the bar distracted the Earth Kingdom man making him miss by a wide range. They cheered on for a fight. Other drunken supporters tried to start their own brawls. Zuko kept his gaze on his opponent while never leaving Katara's side. She hadn't even moved for the whole ordeal, her face neutral and her eyes glazed over. Zuko felt the beginnings of panic rise in his chest. What in Agni's name did he give her?

"No fighting!" Before Zuko could evade, he was shoved along with the Earth Kingdom man and Katara out a back door that led to a side alley of the building. It took a second for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. A second was too long, a solid fist connected with his temple. Zuko turned away from the punch and grabbed ahold of the man's neck. The headache coming on was almost unbearable but Zuko secured him in a choke hold.

"What did you give her?" Zuko shook him again, "TELL ME!"

The man gargled his words. Zuko looked to Katara and shoved the man against the opposite wall. Crates and old piles of trash crashed onto the street. Never in his life did he think he would be so worried about his partner, the one that was so powerful she could control your body without much concentration. Zuko slowly approached her. He had never seen her or anyone else so completely out of it.

"What did you do to her?" He choked out.

Her long hair hung limply around her face. Her eyes glossed over and missing the spark of blue that Zuko had become so familiar with. She was leaning against the wall, her head flopped to one side. She made it seem like her head was too heavy for her body. But it was her eyes that scared Zuko the most. She wouldn't look at him…couldn't. He felt as if any sudden movement would shatter her.

"Katara, can you hear me?"

"Chill out man, it's only something that makes them nicer to score." The man coughed and spat at Zuko's feet.

Zuko felt anger burn from his chest and seep out like lightening towards the rest of his body. His beloved heat sending sparks around the inside of his chest. Oh how he missed the fire of his emotions.

The man pulled out a small knife and managed to slice against Zuko's upper arm while he was looking at Katara. Grabbing onto his fist, Zuko slammed it with both hands on the nearest wall.

"AH!" He dropped the knife in pain. The guy scrambled to reach towards Zuko's throat in an effort to choke him but Zuko had his hands around his opponent's throat first. The guy tried with all of his strength to pry Zuko's fingers off of his neck.

He felt the pain on his knuckles as his opponent squirmed and clawed at his restraints. But Zuko didn't care. He was feeling his warmth seep into the cells of his body once more. As if his anger fueled his fire. He wanted more, like a beggar seeking a warm fire on a frozen winter night. He needed to be thawed, wanted to feel the burn embrace his skin once more. He was addicted to his flames and in moments like these he felt the burn at it's best.

Zuko narrowed his eyes. He shouldn't let himself succumb to the madness of the heat. But what this man was about to do was despicable. He let his bloody hands seep into the feelings his body desired. Fire followed the pathway down his shoulders to his fingertips. What he was about to do, this was justice.

Zuko knew this sequence too well as he squeezed harder and let the fire roam free from his hands. They claw at their necks like mad men, their faces turn red from all of the blood trapped in their heads. Then their eyes become blood shot, rolling in the back of their head as they slowly slip into darkness. Zuko's face remained just as angered as he watched the light fade from the man's eyes. We all die just like animals, only humans can kill like monsters and Zuko didn't care that he was one of them.

Zuko let go when he was sure the man was dead. Gasping he fell to the floor with the body and grabbed his injured arm with shaky hands. The body slumped against him with a thud. His arm had bleed pretty badly but had seemed to stop amidst the fighting. He glanced over to Katara and let out a few calming breaths to slow his ragged breathing.

He could still feel the heat of desire from the kill rolling around in his soul. Panting, he closed his eyes and grabbed at his shirt collar. He needed to calm himself down or the fire would consume him. He didn't want to be like his father. An old familiar voice drifted through Zuko's head telling him to take control of inner peace that would in turn help him control his dark flames.

Zuko knew the fire that fueled the kill was addicting, he had battled it too many times. Even his sister had lost to that battle. His breath was slowly steadying and the heat was beginning to die down. Zuko looked down at his palms, he needed to get a hold of himself if he wanted to pull off this masquerade of being a non-bender.

Coughing and wiping his hands on his pants, he slowly made it back to a standing position. The shakiness of his hands not helping one bit. He winced as he held his injured arm and moved to stand in front of Katara. She didn't even notice and still stared right through him. Zuko placed a gentle hand onto her cheek.

"…Ka-Katara…stay with me…"

He started to trace his thumb over her cheek but stopped at the sight of his hand. They were covered in dirt, and blood had managed to get underneath his fingernails. She didn't deserve to be around a monster.

Stepping back, he leaned down and grabbed Katara, throwing her over his shoulder. Her arms flopped like deadweight against the back of his thighs.

Zuko made his way to another inn, assuming they wouldn't be allowed back inside their original place until morning. Readjusting his grip on her once more, he walked down the street under complete darkness.

"Oh man, I think I drank too much last night…" Katara groaned into her pillow. She squinted her eyes against the onslaught of light and moved to place the pillow over her head. Oh no, definitely don't move…her stomach wouldn't have any of it. She tried to roll over onto her right side to face away from the window when she noticed someone in her room. She looked at the man. Black and grey clothing, brown armor, black shoulder length shaggy hair, a scar on one side of his face and a scowl that made the other half match. It was the scowl above anything else that made her recognize him instantly…yup that's Zuko.

"The hell are you doing in here Zuko?" Zuko turned his head towards her.

"You should be grateful for the person who just saved your hide last night," he growled out.

"Fine…fine…but you don't have to yell." Zuko stood up abruptly. Katara followed him with her eyes and regretted it, her stomach churning at the slight movement.

"Yes I do! What were you doing last night with that strange man anyways?" Zuko's voice was slowly escalating. "You could have gotten yourself kidnapped or worse if I wasn't there to stop him!"

"Is that worry I'm sensing from my brooding partner?" Zuko glared at Katara.

His voice was a lot softer than she expected. "You got yourself into a dangerous situation last night and with a stranger no less. The least you could do is be courteous to your savior for just a little bit. How the HELL did you even make it this far before you met me? You make UNBELIEVABLE ROOKIE MISTAKES!" Nope, he was back to yelling.

Katara got up off the bed and shoved Zuko, hard. "I'm not as much of a rookie as you think I am. I know you have a god complex but I swear to La you don't have to act on it during every conversation!" Katara clenched her jaw and prayed she wouldn't puke on her partner's feet.

Zuko's glare didn't falter. "I'm not going to argue with a child!" Katara could have sworn the room was getting hotter, maybe it was just an effect of the nausea finally going to her head. Zuko looked down at his hands and walked towards the bedroom door quickly.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?! I'm not done yelling yet!" Katara tried to stumble after him but her legs weren't working as best as she wanted them. She didn't like that her body felt like someone had poured molasses into her veins.

Zuko grabbed his outer robe by the door before turning his head slightly back to her. She traced the profile of his unmarred side with her eyes. "If you keep going down this path you'll be more alone than you realize."

"Well _lucky_ for me I'm stuck with you" Katara said in a mocking voice. Zuko slammed the door behind him. Katara leaned back and slumped over as she sat on the bed. She didn't know why she was so angry. She rubbed her forehead to get rid of the ache, she didn't even remember meeting a guy last night. How could she have let her guard down so easily.

Katara rubbed her temple to ease the migraine that was starting to set in. Her muscles ached as she stood and headed over to the bathroom. Maybe a quick wash up can calm the nerves and her stomach before she packed away their things.

Zuko's feet crunched over the gravel as he headed back to the original inn. He knew he left a bag when he counted their things earlier this morning and found it to be less. If it's not at this place then it's lost forever. He couldn't help the annoyed sigh escape as he opened the door.

Zuko was greeted by the bartender as he walked down the steps. The bartender gave him a smile while he cleaned a wooden cup.

"Did you find any bags left here last night? I think I might have left something here." The bartender threw a brown bag that, sure enough, had Katara's doodles over the leather straps. Zuko grabbed the strings, turned, and marched up the steps.

"So how was she last night?" Zuko stopped in his tracks, halfway out the door.

"What?"

"How was that chick man? I spiced her up with her first drink and I saw someone else give her a double dose later than night. Was worried she'd stop breathin' or somethin'. Must have been some wild ride to have two guys fight over her." The bartender laughed at his own joke.

Zuko let the door slam closed before turning around and checked the front desk through the corner of his eye… all clear. He plastered on a smile as he hopped down the steps in one leap. "Thanks for the nice gesture man, you do that for the new comers often?" The bartender's smile reminded Zuko of an iguana vulcher's.

The bartender leaned over, his teeth blackened around the gums. "You seemed like you needed a pick-me-up and I thought you could use a fun time. You were eyeing her like a fat kid in a candy shop!" He let out another deep laugh.

Zuko slapped his left hand on the bar, his voice low.

"Thanks again."

The bartender started to lean away, weary of the tone in the stranger's voice. Like lightening, Zuko grabbed onto his collar and pulled him over the counter. The top half of the bartender's slender body on the bar with his head over the other side facing the floor. Zuko's right hand slowly started moving towards his broadswords at his back. The sword sung to him as he pulled one of his blades out of their sheath and held it close to the bartender's neck. His left hand held a firm hold on the bartender's clothes. With the blade against his neck, Zuko started to slowly pressed it deeper.

"Thing is, if you did that to anyone else, I wouldn't have given a komodo rhino's shit."

The bartender was whimpering as drops of his blood were slowly dripping down the blade and onto the floor at a faster and faster rate. Zuko's blade dug deeper and deeper.

"But because the woman you picked was my partner…well let's just say I'm not exactly okay with that."

The bartender tried to yell out for help, but Zuko quickly sliced through his neck, effectively cutting off the sound. The bartender gurgled before becoming silent.

He grimaced at his sword from the amount of blood. Wiping it on the back of the bartender's clothes, he grabbed Katara's bag and the coin purse on the end of the bar before walking out.

Katara heard his footsteps outside the door before he knocked. She jumped up from the bed and faced him.

"Where in La's name have you been?! You can't just walk out when we were talking!" Katara walked directly in front of Zuko, never letting her gaze drop from his. "We're a team, if you go somewhere I need to go too. If something happens to you I'll have to find a replacement again and I won't be as lucky the next time."

Zuko stayed silent, looking at her before walking around her and dropped her bag onto the bed.

"You left this at the other inn." He turned and slumped into the chair that sat in the corner of the dusty room near the window. He put his fingers to the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. It wasn't until a few seconds later when he could open his eyes to look at Katara. Zuko had expected a continued tirade but had to make sure she was still in the room with all of the silence. She was looking at the bottom hem of his pants, a shaky finger pointing.

"Why is there…"

Zuko growled, "what?"

"Why…why is there blood on your pants?"

Zuko lifted his left leg up to inspect his pant. Sure enough, a couple drops of rust colored liquid adorned the hem. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the windowsill.

"City's a dangerous place I guess."

Katara gave Zuko another lookover before resuming packing their things.

They were on the outskirts of the city when they received a messenger hawk. Two different missions were listed. Katara leaned over Zuko's shoulder to read them. Neither had spoken a word since the inn.

"Pick which one you want." Zuko looked up confused. She had always been acting like she was the only head-honcho running the show, not once asking for his input. Now she was not only asking his opinion, but letting him take the reins? Zuko gave her a curious look before re-reading the mission descriptions. He noticed that one was close to the village that Sokka and the red-headed chick lived. He figured it would be nice to see other people and Katara probably wanted to see her family.

Zuko motioned towards the top mission. Katara nodded her head in agreement.

"I guess we might as well swing by and meet up with Sokka too. It'll be nice to be back on Kyoshi." Katara seemed to be in a marginally better mood at just the idea.

Silently, Katara started to walk off towards B. Zuko ground his teeth. He knew she was still upset about their argument from earlier.

Before he realized what his body was doing, his arm reached out and pulled on her arm, dragging her back to him. He brought his hand to the back of her neck and let his forehead rest against the side of hers.

"You gotta be more careful than that." His voice was almost a whisper. Katara closed her eyes. She nodded her headed against his and put a hand on the arm holding her.

"I promise." Her voice was just as soft.

She looked up at him. Oh, when did he get so close? His nose was touching hers. She could perfectly see the golden specks that lined his irises. Katara turned away before she let herself be stupid again. She felt like he was setting her on fire with his eyes and especially his touch. His hand was hot on the back of her neck. She didn't want her body to start betraying her, making it obvious to her partner what she had been thinking of. Katara had felt way too warm. She had needed to get out of there before something happened. Katara grabbed B's reins and continued walking, glancing back at Zuko quickly. He was looking down at his hand.

A/N:

I don't know how many times I've gone over this chapter to edit it but I'm throwing it out there before I decide to change something else again…ehhh…

So just as a warning there is darkness and violence throughout the story. This is probably the worst chapter out of them all but since I've only outlined Ch 5 and 6 so far I'm not making any promises. But yeah, hence why I wanted to up the rating. It's so hard keeping the characters true to their nature but in the next chapter there's a bunch of history coming out so you'll understand why I can see these guys doing what they do.

Thanks for all the follows and favs! See you guys in chapter 5!


	5. To Trust or Not To Trust

Chapter 5

To Trust or Not To Trust

Disclaimer: All rights belong to M&B and Nickelodeon

_She had needed to get out of there before something happened. Katara grabbed B's reins and continued walking, glancing back at Zuko quickly. He was looking down at his hand._

She loved the full moon and all of it's beauty. It was rare when Katara was able to get a chance to relax on a night of the full moon and just enjoy herself. Zuko had wandered off towards the town without so much as a word in parting and Katara had opted to bathe in the river rather than to reminisce on Zuko's possible encounters in town. She had made the mistake a couple days past on asking what he always did in town. After glaring at her for what seemed like endless minutes, he told her it was a personal matter and to leave it be. Katara had connected the fact of being in a men's only prison for years plus any humans desires that were repressed throughout the years would probably leave someone a little more than wanting. She never asked again after that.

She removed her cloths and opted for only her wrappings as she dove into the river. The feel of ice cold water against her skin felt like home. After a long soak, she stood and walked to the rivers edge. Drips of water fell from her nose. She knew she'd be shivering to the bone within seconds but she had missed the feeling of her element too much.

Katara moved through old bending motions she hadn't practiced in a while. The slow movements done with ease from years of practice. She was finally getting the stress out of her bones when she heard a movement from the surrounding trees.

She threw a couple ice daggers at a few trees above head level to scare either the wild life or any encroaching persons. It's not like a surprise, but she had already guessed who had walked up to the river's bank. She relaxed her arms when familiar gold eyes appeared from the darkness of the forest.

"Careful where you throw those things." His voice was tipping towards annoyance.

She turned her back to him and caught her reflection against the ripples in the water. Heat started crawling its way up her neck and cheeks when she realized she was only in her wrappings. Too late to go back now…

Katara looked at Zuko from the corner of her eye, "wanna join me?" He didn't move at her question, staring up at the moon instead. Katara turned back around, she didn't like the disconnect they were having and during their most recent mission their client had almost become a casualty because of it.

"I'm not a waterbender."

"No, but you can come and do the movements with me." She waved him over. Slowly taking off his shirt, he couldn't help but think if Katara was trying to play a trick on him and was waiting for the right moment to jump.

With his shirt and shoes removed he stood with her at the edge of the bank. Zuko took a good look at Katara and waited for any movements that would indicate an attack. The blue sparks in her eyes made him think her eyes held flames under the moonlight.

"Now just follow my movements." Katara raised her arms forward, extending her body and raised her arms slowly above her head. Zuko followed in sync. While Katara created a wave from stealing the water from the river, she slowly moved a moderate sized ball of water between her and Zuko. She took a step back to create enough space, Zuko furrowed his brows in confusion.

With slow movements, Katara started to move the water around the empty space in a circle. It took a second for Zuko to realize what she was doing and mirrored her movements. To the untrained eye it would have appeared that the both were waterbending the single orb.

Neither kept count of the time as they moved together. After Katara felt the last of the tense energy leave her body she lowered the water to their feet with a splash.

She centered her hands over her chest, her left fingers over her palm in a prayer position, signaling the exercise was over. While she had her hands in that position she sent a silent prayer for strength to La…and while she was at it, she asked Tui to pitch in too.

Peeking through her right eye, she glanced towards Zuko. He was standing similar to her, taking large deep breaths. His eyes were closed but his hands were in a funny position. She focused her energy towards him. The feeling of his pulse was strong and the steady rhythm calmed her.

After what she felt like ages, she finally spoke. "Are we ok?" It felt like she had weights in her chest, Katara moved to face him directly.

Zuko didn't move at first until he let out a low whisper. "Yeah."

Katara stopped biting her lip. She had to force her next words out, she hated stating her true feelings. "I don't like this. We're imbalanced and it nearly made us fail our last mission." She pushed, hoping that he would pull.

Zuko let out a breath and walked away, "you're over thinking things."

"Zuko, what's going-"

"What are you doing?" Katara paused.

"What do you mean?"

"What are you doing with someone like me? T, I'm not a good person to be around."

There's that nickname again. She couldn't stop her face from showing her worry. "What are you talking about?"

Zuko kept his back to her, "you deserve to be partnered with someone better than some dead-beat prisoner escapee." When he didn't hear the outburst he was expecting, he turned around to make sure she was still behind him. Katara's head was down, her fists clenched at her sides, shaking. Was she crying?

When she looked up, Zuko saw pure anger in her eyes.

"Say that one more time and I'll punch you. No one is better than anyone else. I hate it when people think someone's above or below someone else. It's not-"

"Hey, you asked…I was being honest."

Katara stopped her ranting to glare at him with all her might. The sparks had turned to pure flames and he felt like he was facing a wall of blue fire.

She crossed her arms over her chest and looked away. "Fine, whatever." She felt too exposed to him, and it didn't help that she was only in her wrappings. In a fit of fury she began gathering her cloths that laid on the riverbank and decided to storm back to camp.

When he sensed that she wasn't going to say anything else before storming away, his mouth had decided to blurt out against his will.

"I'm jealous you know." Katara had paused mid-stomp and looked at him confused. "Being able to waterbend, you make it beautiful, like the art it was intended to be." Katara relaxed a little at his words and felt another blush dust her cheeks.

"Thanks." With one last look he grabbed his shirt and headed back to camp. Katara thought she saw a ghost of a smile on his face before he turned away from her towards the dark forest.

"KATARA!"

"SUKI!"

Both women had sprinted to each other and were screaming, crying and laughing as they hugged on the docks.

"I'm so glad you're finally home! I was wondering how long you were gonna stay away from me!" Suki's smiled in excitement and hugged Katara again. "I'm so happy you're back!"

Zuko stood a couple paces behind the crazy women with B. Sokka walked up and stared up at the large animal. He had always heard of the dragon moose but had never imagined it would be so large in real life.

Sokka was about to comment on Zuko's need for large animals to compensate when he was cut off by his wife.

"Katara and I are heading to the bath house. We need to catch up on some girl time so no boys included." Sokka's shoulders slumped.

Zuko turned towards Sokka's shed and muttered something about 'crazy women' to B.

Not even ten whole minutes had passed and the girls been able to claim a room of their own in the town's spa house. They propped a chair against the door for added security and started to undress near one of the three large hot bath pools.

"I can't believe we commandeered the bath house!" Suki was giggling in excitement.

Katara sprinkled peach and mango infusion oils into the bath while Suki opened a bottle of liquid soap.

"Just letting you know Kat, I can't stay in the pool for too long."

"Oh yeah? Worried you'll wrinkle up like an old lady?" Katara jeered.

"No…apparently I have to start taking care of myself and someone else now." Blue eyes went wide as saucers.

"When did you find out?!" Katara couldn't keep the excitement from her voice.

"Well I haven't exactly been regular for almost three months and I wanted you to check and make sure I wasn't hallucinating before I made an announcement to Sokka." Katara lifted a small globe of water from one of the bathing pools and enclosed it in her hand. She cooled it a bit before pressing it to Suki's stomach. Sure enough, the beginning of a baby bump was just starting to show.

The globe illuminated as Katara pressed it to Suki. It didn't take long for Katara to feel the push and pull of Suki's qi between mother and baby. Katara looked up at Suki and nodded her head and smiled. Suki who had been holding her breath let out a short breath and jumped. Katara was sure she would have fallen into the pool if Katara hadn't grabbed onto her and steadied her. Smiles and hugs were exchanged. The excitement didn't die down as the girls jumped into the hot pool.

"So now that you know what's going on with me, tell me what's new with you and that smokin' new partner?" Suki wiggled her eyebrows.

"Oh my gods, Suki." Katara splashed her shoulder. "I don't ogle my partner that much! Besides this isn't going to be a Jet thing again.

"Kat, Jet was a psychopath and a weirdo from the start. Zuko doesn't seem too bad. He's lasted longer than Jet and I don't see a massive psychotic following. It's been three months since you two teamed up right?" Katara nodded her head. "He doesn't eat random leaves does he?" Suki mimed Jet chewing a leaf stalk. Katara laughed a bit awkwardly and tried to swat at Suki who easily dodged.

"But anyways Kat, have you found anything new about Zuko?"

"Well he's a great fighter that's for sure. He hasn't firebent around me nor when we're on a mission. Sometimes he feels really warm but I'm always freezing cold so I can't really tell. I haven't seen any firelust let alone any firebending. I'm starting to doubt the Warden's suspicions of him being a bender. No one would be able to last that long without bending, especially a firebender since they're cursed to kill every time they bend their element." The memory of the morning at the inn and the mysterious blood stain jumped to the front of her mind. She buried the thought before Suki had a chance to catch on.

"And he's really good without a shirt too." Katara winked and laughed.

Suki let out a huff. "I'm so sad Sokka lost his six-pack. I blame it on the seal jerky."

Katara faked throwing up at the thought of her brother being attractive. The women laughed a bit and Katara started to tell Suki about her travels and what's she's learned. She mentally shivered as she remembered Zuko's past with the baby and how his wife had been murdered.

"He's even really good with kids, especially the one we rescued from the bounty hunter a little while back. I think it really got to him and he thinks of his son more often now. He's been grumpy ever since that mission but I'm starting to think he's always like that." Katara rolled her eyes at the thought.

"Wait…what happened to Zuko's kid?" Suki unknowingly covered her stomach with her arms. Katara let out a slow sigh.

"From what he said, the baby died from a disease it was born with." She paused and let the water slowly seep out from her cupped fingers. "His name was Cahir. You should have seen his face when he was talking about his kid. He's never been that open with me. It's like I could read all of his emotions and _feel_ his pain with him."

Katara told Suki about their latest mission on stopping a caravan raid. Zuko had been able to take all of the guys out on his own. Katara wasn't even needed. She figured Zuko probably just wanted to let off steam. But eventually he started to become careless with his moves and almost attacked the client. If Katara had reacted a second too late with an ice block Zuko's sword would have swung down on the wrong person. She had tried to get him to pause, breathe, think, anything for him to clear his head but he just glared at her while and yanked his sword out of the ice and turned to the nearest attacker. Something from his past was bothering him and he was taking it out on their mission. Suki nodded the whole time Katara talked.

"I haven't even had my baby yet and I can't even imagine that…" a sad silence feel over the two. "I can't imagine being next to a fire nation man either."

"It's not like he's that bad a guy though…well so far…" Suki had an evil smile on her face.

"I can imagine he's extremely hot with all those muscles. He must have a huge raging…" Suki made suggestive motions with her hands.

"SUKI STOP! It's not like that at ALL!" Katara was almost speechless. Her body betrayed her as she felt the heat from blushing on her face. Suki couldn't help the evil giggles escape and pinched Katara's red cheeks.

"But Kat, I'm worried about you." Suki's face went serious. "I know you still have feelings about wanting to settle down. You better not still be blaming yourself with what happened to Sangok are you?" Katara shook her face and detached herself from Suki's grip.

"No…that was a long time ago. It's not my fault he took a suicidal mission after I broke off the engagement." Katara leaned back and recited her words as if they were out of a textbook. Suki raised an eyebrow. "Trust me, Dad brings it up every time I see him, especially my marital status. And besides, it's not like that anymore Suki. I had my opportunity and I gave it up. I don't want to settle down anymore." Katara inwardly groaned at the idea of seeing her father again. She had said some not-too-kind words to him last time she had seen him and wouldn't be lying if she said she was trying to avoid seeing him again.

"I can sense a lie when I hear it and I don't even need my mommy instincts to kick in!"

"You're being ridiculous and that's not even possible this freaking early!" Katara huffed. "Besides I'm too old now."

"Be careful I'm older than you!" Suki wagged a finger in Katara's face. "Kat, I'm not the only one that's worried. Even Sokka has mentioned it once or twice. I'd even take the fire nation guy if it meant you could be happy." Tears started to gather up in Suki's eyes. Katara forced herself to remain still so that she wouldn't groan and roll her eyes at the sudden emotional roller coasters coming from Suki.

"Suki…that idea ended when Dad marked me as captain of the SouthEast branch. No one from my tribe wants me, you've heard what they say. A couple years ago? Yeah, it sucked but I'm over it. What I'm doing to end this war is my baby. My team is my family. I have everything you have, it's just that the faces are a little different than what I imagined. Besides I wouldn't raise a family with my life style. And if I did, I'd have to stop and sit on the sidelines to raise some fat water tribe babies for some egotistical dum-dum. You'd KNOW I'd die of boredom from the first week. What you're doing right now with that," Katara pointed to Suki's stomach, "is more brave than anything I'd ever be able to do."

Her father had tried repeatedly to engage her with any acceptable man that walked within a hundred mile radius of their home village and it only got worse when she entered the army. All offers of marriage were based on the idea that she'd stop fighting in the war and stay at home with the rest of the women. Of course, Katara had told them to shove it where the sun don't shine if they couldn't handle a real woman. After her twentieth birthday, the offers seemed to almost slam to a halt. She still had mixed feelings between sadness, regret and overwhelming joy even to this day.

Suki's tears were spilling over. "I just want you to be happy." Katara sat on the pool's ledge with Suki and hugged her.

"I know, I want to too. But not all of us get happy endings." Suki hit her shoulder.

"Don't be complaining about unhappy endings! You still got the hot guy as a partner." Suki sniffed. She leaned away a little to look at Katara. "But you gonna be okay?"

Katara felt the lie slip out from her lips before she could stop it.

"Yeah, I will."

"Come on Zuko! I can't stand being in the house any longer. Let's go already!" Katara had Zuko by the sleeve and wouldn't let go. She had managed to drag him out of the house and down the street a ways before Zuko fought her off and walked with her.

"So what are we doing now?"

"We just need to get out of the house for a little while." Katara turned left towards the city central market.

Earlier that day, Suki had asked Katara if she could help with the dinner plans and asked if she and Sokka could have the house to themselves when she announced it to her husband. Katara was over the moon helping Suki. Zuko had guessed right away at the special occasion saying something about Suki's temper or her walk, neither woman could understand what he mumbled exactly. Katara had managed to only roll her eyes and shake her head when Suki looked her way.

In town, Katara dragged Zuko to different stalls, bargaining with each vender. When Katara had spotted her next "victim" (as she liked to call them) Zuko took a couple of coins from her purse to buy the next few items on her list. Shortly after she had explained in (painful) detail how to pick the perfect sea prunes, Katara wandered towards her destination with an evil gleam to her eye.

Ten minutes later Zuko was wandering around town with his groceries in a bag on his shoulder. He hoisted the bag behind him a little more to get away from the awful smell of the sea prunes. He hadn't been paying much attention to Katara's lesson on the perfect sea prune but apparently a blinding, rancid smell was one qualification.

Zuko was about to pass a tea vender's stall when he picked up a hushed conversation.

"I promise on my own grampi's grave! What I'm sayin' is true!" Two old geezers sat perched over a table and seemed to be arguing.

"Yew haven't seen an airbender yew old coot." Old man number two slapped the other's shoulder. Zuko felt his body freeze. In less than a second he placed his sack next to an empty seat at the bar closest to the bickering old men and ordered whatever tea he pointed at on the menu.

"He's livin 'round these parts I'm tellin' ya! I saw him with me own eyes, weird cloths and all!" Their voices became hushed whispers once again and it took all of Zuko's might to not storm over to the old men and demand to be let into their conversation. The bartender placed a small cup with a tea pot next to his left arm, poured the tea and handed the finished product to Zuko who nodded his head in thanks.

He gripped his cup with a little more force and pulled his hood down a little. The smell of the tea wafted around his head. It smelled so much like the brew his uncle made, Zuko relaxed and tensed at the thought. He hoped his uncle was okay. It had been years since he'd seen the old man. Was he even still alive? He was old when he was imprisoned, it shouldn't be a surprise if he-

Zuko almost jumped out of his chair when he felt a smack to his shoulder. Katara stood there next to him with a furrowed brow and hands on her hips.

"Geez! I've been calling your name for a while, you ok?"

Zuko gave a curt nod before grabbing their bags with more force than he'd liked. He couldn't believe he let someone sneak up on him. Katara gave him a once over pointing her head in the direction of a water tribe shop. "Lets go get the last things there and head home."

When they made it back to the house, Katara and Zuko dropped off their bags gave the expecting couple their privacy for the special dinner under the guise that they had eaten earlier and weren't hungry. Sokka had gotten excited at the smell of stewed sea prunes and it had taken all of Zuko's will to not gag at the fumes. He tried to get a quick peek at the dish making the pungent smell only to comment that it looked like prison food and was quickly pelted with various kitchen objects by the other three.

As Suki and Sokka headed outside for dinner, Katara made some quick excuse about going into town. Sokka eyed Zuko and Katara wearily before being dragged outside by his wife. When the door had finally shut, Katara sprinted up the stairs and creaked the window at the top of the stairs open to hear their conversation. Silently, she waved him over to sit next to her.

"I just want to hear the announcement and then we can go." She mouthed the words.

After a couple minutes of listening to the couple downstairs Katara quickly became bored and started to unravel her braid and hair loops to relax for the night. They were talking about sea prune recipes and hoping to visit GranGran at some point before the heavy snow season. She chanced a quick look at the Fire Nation man sitting next to her and couldn't help but think of the early conversation between her and Suki.

With all the excitement about a baby and Suki's never ending questions about her love life, Katara couldn't stop the words from coming out.

"Have you ever thought about settling down?" Zuko turned to her.

"You forget, I've already done that. Didn't turn out well. I'm not the kind of person who likes to make the same mistake again." He brought his arms over his knees and rested his head against them. She couldn't help but notice the hard edge to his voice.

"Is that what happened with your sc-" her hands flew to her mouth and clamped it shut. She had never imagined that his glare could turn so fierce. "I'm sorry, forget I said anything!" The muscles in his jaw flexed. She saw him glance at the bottom of the stairs before looking back to her again.

"I've done a lot of things in my past that I'm not proud of. I've also been punished for them. This just happened to be a very permanent educational statement." His voice sounded even more strained as he whispered.

"Is that what it's like? Living in the Fire Nation?"

He quickly stood and went down the stairs after he muttered a few expletives under his breath. She raced down the stairs after him and had only reached the front door right after he slammed it.

"Zuko! Zuko!" It had started to pour outside. Zuko's face looked even more menacing with drops of water hanging off. With the lack of light she couldn't see the gold in his eyes anymore. Why did she suddenly miss that?

"Why me?" He shouted.

"What?"

"Why _me_? You had a million men to choose from back in that prison. Why did you choose me? If you're as smart as I think you are, you'd have looked at my account scroll back at the prison. Do you have any idea how dangerous of a person I am? Katara I was accused of _murder_!" His voice had drifted off at the last word, whispering it like it shouldn't have even reached her ears. Even in the darkness she could clearly make out the lines and wrinkles of his scar.

Katara bit her lip to stop it from trembling in anger. "Of course I'm not stupid! Why are you even bothering to tell me this? If you're so dangerous wouldn't you have slit my throat long ago?"

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Why are you so bothered by the fact that I keep asking questions?!"

Silence.

"Why are you always turning away from me?"

Silence.

"I'm your partner. I need to trust you and in order to do that I need to know who you are. You need to be able to trust me too."

She was about to slash at him with a waterwhip to get him to talk, move, _something_ until he finally did.

"Trust huh? Then why have we been circling Omashu for the past three months? You've been saying we've been heading to base camp this whole time. I've memorized the surrounding land of Omashu we've been aimlessly wandering around for so damn long! What are you waiting for? You trying to kill me? What have you been planning? WHAT?!"

Now it was her turn to be silent.

"Figures," he scoffed. Zuko turned to walk away but her hand flew out to grab his sleeve. This wasn't over just yet.

"I'll tell you, but you need to listen. To the entire thing." Zuko stared right back. She took his silence as a yes.

"I've been waiting for orders about your status in the rebel army. They know you're a fire nation royalty. They know your background, but they don't know enough of you to trust you. They asked me to gather intel before I brought you to them. My mission was to figure out if you were still loyal to the Fire Nation. They don't really want the enemy so close to home." She paused to take a steadying breath. "They wanted information from you and it was up to me to figure out if you can be trusted." Her hand tightened it's grip on his arm. "But I need to know Zuko, back in Omashu…why was there blood on your cloths…Firebenders are susceptible to firelust which is just a fancy word for bloodlust. If you're gonna turn into some fire breathing monster it's my job to find out. Now tell me…why was there blood?"

"My kind aren't the only ones who turn into monsters." He spat his words at her like venom. "You should do well to remember that tid-bit. But for you're information I'm not the fire bending monster you're making me out to be." Her veins turned to ice at the thought. She knew well what he was talking about but she would never let herself get to that point. Unlike the others, she had control over her bloodbending.

"…then why?"

She caught minute movement of his eyes widening in shock. The gold was back. He slumped his shoulders, but only a little.

"I was protecting my partner. Everything I do is to ensure your safety." His gaze hardened. "I owe you my life for getting me out of prison. Until I have repaid my debt, I will always do what is needed to be done to keep you safe…it's what I swore to you, remember?"

She tried to find any hint of fault or lies. Katara felt her hair had finally been completely plastered to her face by the rain. Her entire body soaked to the bone. Zuko was in the same state. She felt a hand on both her arms and then felt them rise up to her shoulders. His hands were warm.

"Katara, can you be honest with me?" She nodded hesitantly after a couple of seconds. "I need to know, can I trust you…_really_ trust you?"

Katara put a hand on his chest, never breaking their gaze.

"Zuko, be honest with me too, how much _should_ I trust you?"

They held that pose for what felt like forever as they waited for their answers. A sound behind them and they both turned with lightening speed to look. Katara didn't want to move her eyes away from his. Zuko was the first to look away to the sound behind her. Their hands didn't move until they saw Suki and Sokka with their weapons drawn on the front porch. Katara noticed that the grip on their weapons had been more relaxed than she liked. How long had they been standing there?

"We heard yelling." Suki explained. The rain had finally died down to a mist.

Zuko let go of her. The familiar chill set in, she started to wonder when she had gotten used to being so warm. She loved the frozen temperatures of her element. Why is it that whenever Zuko touched her she felt like she was boiling over?

A second after the couple on the porch made their appearance, Zuko turned and walked away. She barely caught his "be back later". His shoulders seemed to hold more tension than she was used to.

It was Sokka who spoke next. "You alright?" Katara looked at Suki and Sokka and nodded. Sokka's eyes didn't move from Zuko's retreating form until he disappeared down the path. "By the way…you're going to be an aunt." Katara remained silent. When Zuko was out of sight Sokka walked toward the shed on the side of their small house.

"Katara come inside before you get sick."

Katara gave Suki a look, "if I can't get wet every now and again, I really got stuck with the wrong element." Katara walked over to Suki and bent the water out of her cloths. She left the water in her hair and wrung it out with her hands.

Looking down the path that left from the front of the house, it had taken all of her might debating whether or not she should follow him. Sounds of plates clanking came from inside and, slowly, she turned inside to help.

A/N:

Holy craaaaaap it's been a long time since I updated! I am still alive! I've been trying to balance 2 and a half jobs plus family drama and life kinda carried me away :/

This chapter was a B…it originally was going to be a lot longer but I was less than half way through working on the outline I was almost hitting 7K+ which is just too much so I thought this was a nice break. Besides the chapter had started to become a raging bat-shit crazy monster…whoops…

So in this chapter we've been able to glimpse more at the idea that's been circling in my head for a while. I always had assumed there would be a yin/yang to the usage of the elements. The show had always emphasized balance and this story will really focus on the idea of balance of power. For firebenders, it's the same effect when you have a high fever and you start becoming loopy. The heat scrambles your brain. The hotter the fire, the more of a negative effect it will have on your mental status and obviously the longer the use of the hot fire the more permanent the effects. Zuko has now hinted that it's not only the firebenders who have a problem with the negative effects of their bending, it's just more commonly known with the 100 Yrs War going on and the focus is on the Fire Nation.

Sorry for the suuuper long AN but I figured to clear up any confusion as to where the hell I've been heading with this story. Thanks for reading this far if you are and see you in Ch 6! R&R and let me know what you think! Sorry for any grammar mistakes:/


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